Dolphin’s Barn regeneration project to go ahead

A €25 million development of 100 homes at Dolphin House in Dublin, one of the largest local authority flat complexes in the State, is to go ahead, two years after it was first announced by Dublin City Council.

Plans for the regeneration of the 1950s estate in Dolphin’s Barn, which contains almost 400 flats, were revealed by the council in August 2014.

The following month, the council sought approval from the government for a €16 million regeneration plan, which would involve gutting and reconfiguring the old flats, as well as the construction of new homes.

The council's plans have finally been approved by Minister for Housing Simon Coveney as part of a €25 million package.

The development will see 72 flats in three blocks reconfigured to make 63 larger apartments.

Three new blocks will be built, which will contain 28 apartments in total.

Nine houses, the first houses in the estate, will also be constructed.

Two blocks of vacant flats will be demolished to make way for the new buildings.

Some 40 per cent of the new units will be one-bedroomed, 41 per cent will have two bedrooms, and the remaining 19 per cent will have three or more.

Speaking at Dolphin House on Wednesday, Mr Coveney said that, until now, there hadn’t been the money to allocate to the development.

"There's been a wait because there simply hasn't been money to spend. People seem to forget what Ireland has come through . . . We had massive deficits and we were restricted in what we could spend."

In relation to the gap between the initial €16 million construction estimate and the €25 million allocation, Mr Coveney said the €16 million had been the council’s “request”, but €25 million was the “funding package”.

Mr Coveney said this money would cover the first phase of regeneration, with three more phases to be funded at a later date.

History

Dolphin House was initially designated for demolition and redevelopment several years ago.

Dublin City Council had hoped to pursue that project as a public-private partnership (PPP) before the economic crash.

The estate has become increasingly dilapidated over the past 20 years, with persistent damp, mould and sewerage problems.

It has been the subject of a complaint to the Council of Europe by the International Federation for Human Rights, which accused the government of presiding over appalling living standards and failing to meet basic and legal housing requirements.

Unlike similar previous projects, where flat complexes were levelled and rebuilt, Dolphin House will retain a lot of its original structure, which will be brought up to modern living standards.

The work will see buildings stripped back to their skeletons to allow for the replacement of all sewerage systems and drains, water and electricity services.

It will involve the removal of some internal non-structural walls and the addition of balconies and lifts.

New blocks will be built to create internal courtyards, which will increase security and reduce antisocial behaviour in the area.